Certification to the ISA/IEC 62443 standard, developed by the International Society of Automation (ISA), can reduce industrial cybersecurity risk and regulatory burden. The ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards define a comprehensive set of cybersecurity requirements for industrial automation and control systems (IACS). As a horizontal standard for operational technology (OT) found in industrial and critical infrastructure, it specifies cybersecurity requirements that address the practical needs of industrial systems across all lifecycle stages: specification, design, implementation, verification and validation, operation, maintenance and decommissioning. Conformance with these standards requires independent, transparent and repeatable verification.
Two certification schemes have emerged for evaluating compliance with the ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards. The ISASecure Certification Program, developed by the ISA Security Compliance Institute (ISCI), translates the 62443 requirements into structured evaluation criteria tailored to industrial environments. The IECEE Cybersecurity Program, established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), integrates cybersecurity evaluation into the IEC’s long-standing conformity assessment system.
Both schemes share the common objective of advancing trust, transparency and interoperability in industrial cybersecurity, while reflecting distinct governance philosophies.
This report, created by ISASecure, explains the scope and structural differences of these schemes, and how they compare to proprietary certification methods. Its goal is to help users correctly apply conformity assessment results and protect industrial systems.
